General Chinese

贴福字 (tiē fú zì) Pasting "Fu" Upside Down　

Listen to the nursery rhyme 　

Key Learning points (Preview):

春节 (chūnjié): n Spring Festival/Chinese New Year 　

爷爷 (yéye): n grandpa 　

说 (shuō): v to say

Culture Note:  It is a Chinese custom to paste "Fu" upside down on the doors or walls in the Spring Festival. Yes, the right way to paste "Fu" is to paste it upside down. Why? Because we describe this action as "福倒了(fú dào le)." In Chinese, "福倒了(fú dào le) " has the same pronunciation as  "福到了(fú dào le), " which means "happiness comes."

Chūnjié láidào,
春节     来到,

Spring Festival arrives, 　

Yéye  kěxiào.
爷爷   可笑.

Grandpa is ridiculous. 　

Fú  zì  tiēdào,
福  字  贴倒,

He pasted "Fu" upside down, 　

Wǒ bǎ cuò tiāo.
我   把    错 挑.

I point out the mistake. 　

Yéye bù nǎo,
爷爷   不 恼,

Grandpa does not get mad, 　

Liězuǐ shuō hǎo.

咧 嘴    说 好.

He grins and says it is fine. 　

Fú dào fú dào,
福  倒   福 到,

Hanging "Happiness" upside down means the arrival of good fortune, 　

Xìngfú  lái dào.
幸  福    来 到.

Happiness is coming. 　

Key Learning points:

春节 (chūnjié): n Spring Festival/Chinese New Year 　

"春 (chūn)" means spring and "节(jié)" means festival.

Example:

Chūnjié shì Zhōngguó de chuántǒng jiérì.
春节       是 中国          的   传统        节日.
Spring Festival is a traditional festival in China. 　

爷爷(yéye): n grandpa 　

Example:

Yéye jīngcháng gěi wǒ jiǎng gùshi.
爷爷   经常        给   我 讲     故事.
My grandpa often tells me stories. 　

说(shuō): v to say 　

Example:

Dìdi gāoxìng de shuō: "Wǒ jīn nián wǔ suì la!"
弟弟   高兴    地  说：   “我  今  年  五  岁  啦！”
My little brother merrily said "I'm already five years old!" 　

生词(shēngcí) Vocabulary:   

可笑(kě xiào): adj ridiculous  

好(hǎo): adj fine

幸福(xìngfú): n happiness  

Got questions? Take a Free 1-on-1 live online lesson with our professional teachers from China.

6 Responses to “Chinese Nursery Rhyme for Kids: 贴福字 (tiē fú zì) Pasting “Good Luck” Upside Down”

1. 1. 亨利 says:
   February 9th, 2010 at 11:41 pm

   这个课很有意思的。谢谢你们。

2. 2. enkhmaa says:
   February 12th, 2010 at 7:24 pm

   HAO

3. 3. enkhmaa says:
   February 12th, 2010 at 7:25 pm

   IM MONGOLIA

4. 4. Wentcell says:
   February 8th, 2011 at 4:17 am

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5. 5. Siefkes says:
   February 16th, 2011 at 8:06 am

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6. 6. Meddy says:
   February 17th, 2011 at 7:26 pm

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